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Expert’s Note
Among the possible identifications, Arsinoe II (c. 316-270 BC) deserves particular consideration. The present head shows notable similarities to the portrait of Arsinoe II in the Antikensammlung, Berlin, particularly in its narrow, elongated facial structure, almost straight profile of the nose, small fleshy mouth, and tapering chin. Significantly, the Berlin museum itself emphasizes the characteristic forms of the nose and mouth as important features in the identification of portraits of Arsinoe II, while acknowledging considerable variation among surviving portraits attributed to the queen. The Berlin head is dated to the earlier 3rd century BC and is considered very likely to represent Arsinoe II.
An attribution to Arsinoe II is further supported by the exceptional longevity of her portrait tradition. Following her death in 270 BC, Arsinoe was deified and became the focus of an enduring royal cult. Her images continued to be produced long after her lifetime, while iconographic schemes associated with her were subsequently adopted for representations of later Ptolemaic queens. The longevity of this tradition is demonstrated by surviving images made for her posthumous cult as late as the second half of the 2nd century BC. While a definitive identification cannot be made, the physiognomic parallels with established portraits and the unusually enduring posthumous image tradition of Arsinoe II make her a particularly compelling possibility.
Exquisitely carved, raised on a delicate neck, with youthful feminine features, the elongated face marked by almond-shaped eyes beneath softly modeled brows, a slender nose, and full lips forming a restrained expression, the hair falling in delicate braids to either side.
Provenance: Jean-Louis Domercq, Galerie du Sycomore, Paris, acquired in the 1970s. The private collection of a Lady in Rome, Italy, acquired from the above in 2006. Chiswick London, 19 November 2019, lot 122, sold for GBP 15,500 or approx. EUR 24,000 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). A private collection in the United Kingdom, acquired from the above. Jean-Louis Domercq founded Galerie du Sycomore on the Rue des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1971, beginning a career in the antiquities trade that would span more than five decades. Over the years, he established a reputation for selecting works of notable aesthetic quality and rarity, some of which later entered major museum collections, including the Louvre and the Brooklyn Museum. In 1993, Domercq was also involved in the founding of the International Association of Dealers in Ancient Art (IADAA). That same year, the gallery relocated to Geneva, Switzerland, where it continued as Sycomore Ancient Art, specializing in antiquities.
Condition: Very good condition with expected wear, signs of of weathering and erosion, obvious losses, old smoothened chips, and remnants of ancient pigments. The marble with a fine, naturally grown, smooth patina.
Italian Export License: Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo, Ufficio Esportazione di Firenze, Attestato di libera circolazione, no. 10684, dated 27 July 2016, has been granted. A copy of this document accompanies this lot.
Weight: 2.8 kg (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 21.6 cm (excl. stand), 23.3 cm (incl. stand)
With an associated metal stand. (2)
The Ptolemies were a Macedonian Greek dynasty descended from Ptolemy I, a general of Alexander the Great, who ruled Egypt from 305 BC until the Roman conquest in 30 BC. Ptolemaic royal portraiture therefore combined Greek Hellenistic and Egyptian traditions, with portraits such as the present head belonging firmly to the former. The designation ‘Greek’ in this context refers to the artistic and cultural tradition rather than just the geography.
The dynastic cult of the Ptolemies evolved from the native Egyptian tradition of Pharaonic adoration. The deification and worship of the living Ptolemaic rulers is recorded on reliefs and temple decoration in both the Egyptian and Greek styles. Founded by Ptolemy II for the deification of his parents as the ‘Theoi Soteres’, or Savior Gods, the cult quickly came to encompass living rulers with individual cults for the king and queen. As Sally-Ann Ashton informs, “images of deceased members of the royal family were worshipped as ‘Sunnaoi Theoi’, or Temple-sharing Gods, in both Greek and Egyptian temples”. Furthermore, the historical record preserves decrees ‘illustrating that the appearance of royal statuary was regulated and centrally controlled’. See Susan Walker and Peter Higgs (eds.), Cleopatra of Egypt: From History to Myth, 2001, p. 149.
The identification and precise dating of royal portraits, although often based on comparison with likenesses on coinage and other established sculptural types, can be subjective and a matter of debate. According to Roland R. Smith, portraits of queens ‘are, for the most part, hard to distinguish consistently from representations of goddesses on the one hand and portraits of non-royal women on the other’. See Roland R. Smith, Hellenistic Royal Portraits, 1988, p. 2.
On the present marble head, however, the markedly rougher treatment of the upper parts of the head, starkly contrasting with the exceptionally fine finish of the face and surviving portions of the coiffure, suggest that it was originally completed with separately applied elements, probably in stucco, which may have included parts of the hairstyle and a royal headdress or crown. This provides further support for the identification of the sitter as a Ptolemaic queen. Her pointed chin, small mouth and fleshy lips find parallels in portraits variously attributed to Arsinoe II, Berenike II and Arsinoe III. Among these possible identifications, however, the present head appears to find its closest parallels in portraits attributed to Arsinoe II, as discussed below.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related Hellenistic-Ptolemaic marble head of Queen Arsinoe III, dated 217-203 BC, 13.9 cm high, in the Walters Art Museum, accession number 23.6. Compare a closely related marble head of a Ptolemaic queen, dated to the late 3rd-early 2nd century BC, 23.5 cm high, in the Yale University Art Gallery, accession number 1998.23.10. Compare a related marble head of a Ptolemaic queen, dated c. 270-250 BC, 38.1 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 2002.66.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 16 June 2006, lot 160
Price: USD 66,000 or approx. EUR 95,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Greek marble portrait bust of a queen, Ptolemaic period, circa 3rd century BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject, modeling with similar facial features, and manner of carving. Note the smaller size (16.5 cm).
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 8 June 2007, lot 124
Price: USD 132,000 or approx. EUR 185,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Greek marble portrait of a queen, Ptolemaic period, circa 3rd century BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject, modeling, with similar facial features, and manner of carving. Note the larger size (29.6 cm).
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